Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Honouring a campaigning Corofin priest

A CAMPAIGN is underway in Corofin to erect a permanent memorial
marking the famous march of the 40 shilling freeholders from the village
to Ennis to vote for Daniel O’Connell in the 1828 Clare Election.

The freeholders were led by the parish priest of Corofin, 39-year-old
Fr John Murphy, a native of Newmarket-on-Fergus, who became a central
figure in the election of Daniel O’Connell as MP for Clare, an event
which subsequently led to Catholic Emancipation in 1829.

In Corofin Community Hall recently, a special night was devoted to
the memory of Fr John Murphy by Cumann Staire is Dúchais Chora Finne.

The night included a lecture on Fr Murphy, who was parish priest in
Corofin from 1818 to 1831, by the association’s chairperson Declan
Kelleher and a talk on his biographer, Fr Denis Spellissy, by its
president Dr Maccon MacNamara.

“The Clare election of 1828 was in itself a statement of defiance
from a downtrodden people, who put their necks on the line in the face
of possible reprisals from their landlords and sought the basic civil
right of parliamentary representational rights for Catholics,” explained
Mr Kelleher.

“For his leading role in this election, Fr Murphy deserves to be remembered in Corofin,” he added.

John Murphy, who was appointed parish priest of Corofin at the age of
29, was born in Newmarket in 1789. His step-nephew Rev Denis
Spellissey, who like Fr Murphy is buried in Corofin Church, wrote his
biography in 1880.
Having attended the newly-founded Maynooth College, Fr Murphy first
became co-administrator of Doora parish. Subsequently, he was sent to
administer the parish of Kilnaboy and Rath, as the then parish priest Fr
O’Neill was elderly and needed assistance.

Following Fr O’Neill’s death, Fr Murphy was appointed parish priest
in 1818. As there was no Catholic church in Corofin, Fr Murphy, in
1822, set about the provision of a church to serve the needs of the
local Catholic community.

Local historian Michael McMahon pointed out that Fr Murphy
established a number of schools in the area and his school at Richmond,
where Michael Cusack subsequently taught for a short period, became the
first government-recognised school in Corofin in 1835. He robustly
opposed the proselytising efforts of Dysart landlord Edward Synge.

The Catholic Association was founded in 1823 to achieve civil and
equal rights for Catholics.

At the time, Catholics could not become
parliamentary representatives and were prohibited from taking up many
offices. Fr Murphy was fast became a leading light in the association in
Clare and was one of the first priests to support the proposal to
introduce the famous penny a month Catholic Rent, which gave the poor a
real sense of ownership of the campaign.

The year 1828 brought a major political opportunity for the Catholic
Association. Vesey Fitzgerald, the then sitting Clare MP, accepted a
government position and because of this, had to seek re-election.

After some consideration, it was decided that Daniel O’Connell, the
driving force of the association, would stand against Fitzgerald. As
O’Connell was a Catholic, the eyes of Ireland, Britain and a significant
portion of the world then turned to Clare. This generated huge
publicity as should O’Connell win, he would be debarred from sitting in
parliament because of his religion.

As a leading Clare player in the Catholic Association, Fr Murphy
campaigned vigorously for O’Connell. His speeches were reported widely
in both local and national press. As they were regularly delivered in
Irish, he frequently wrote out English translations for the reporters.

The Clare Champion, in an article written in 1949, described John
Murphy as the foremost priest in the county in the O’Connell election.

His passionate speech on civil and religious rights delivered in
Irish to a huge gathering, which included some of the national leaders
of the Catholic Association, at Corofin Church two days before the
election was described by reporters present as “ a most extraordinary
and powerful display of eloquence”.

On the first day of the election, Fr Murphy assembled and led the
famous march of the local 40s freeholders from Corofin to Ennis. This
event is described in the Tipperary Free Press.

“12 O’clock – Rev Mr Murphy of Corofin came in with Mr Staunton
Cahill at the head of at least 500 men decorated with green branches,
and walking in ranks. Mr Murphy stood up in his gig and was hailed with
the loudest cheering.”

According to historian Ignatius Murphy, “Over the next few days, Fr
Murphy was never far away from O’Connell and was acknowledged as one of
the major organisers of what turned out to be a huge triumph for Daniel
O’Connell and consequently for Catholic Emancipation.”
Soon afterwards, Fr Murphy’s health began to fail. In January 1831, he
was greatly upset by the murder of Roxton landlord William Blood of
Applevale by a local secret society called the Terry Alts. He had
consistently opposed all acts of violence.

Despite seeking recuperation in the spa at Lisdoonvarna, he died
there on September 9, 1831 at the young age of 42 years, having been
attended in his illness by Dr Michael MacNamara of Corofin.

Historian Ignatius Murphy concluded, “John Murphy was only 42 years
old when he died. What his achievements might have been had he lived a
normal span, we can only speculate.”